To Invest A Condo In Pattaya. Will It Be A Good Investment?

[paddyjenkins]

It appears abundantly transparent that many, not all, but many of the long term renters all share the same characteristics.

• Walks everywhere.
• Only eats from street stalls.
• Balloon chases.
• Moans about the exchange rate.
• Wears an attire that totals no more than 200 Baht.
• Looks miserable.
• Dislikes the locals.
• Complains about over paying a few Baht for something completely ridiculous.
• Skips buying a round.
• Leads a mundane existence.

I could go on and on....

It's not something that I just made up, it's a fact, the majority of people that tell you buying is a mugs game or buying a car is for mugs because of the traffic or because the prices are much higher than back in never never land are, in actual fact, mugs themselves that don't have a pot to piss in.

QWell ,ive read some bullshit on Thai visa over the years ,but this is bullshit delux. You must go around with the wrong people .

Constantinople probably thinks of himself as a wealthy property owner because of his shoebox that probably cost about GBP50,000 or less...wow, my living room Persian and Afghan rugs are worth almost as much as that...in fact, the owner of what I would literally call more of a "pot to piss in" than a home....and in fact I did notice of the ones I viewed that quite a number did have a pissy smell for some reason...and no, they weren't the bottom end of the market and I can assure you I could have bought any of them with spare cash in one of my current accounts had I wanted to...but I do prefer to walk, i do often eat Thai food at street stalls, my shorts and shirt and sandals probablty aren't worth much more than 200 baht and I do object to overpaying for anything...lifestyle not mundane though...

[OnMyWay2]

the problem with renting is what do you do with your things if you need to go back to your home country for an undetermined amount of time?

... Also the other downside is what if the owner decides to use the unit for themselves.

Edited September 7, 2013 by OnMyWay2

[poanoi]

There will be few things to give away, but anyway you still have to pay maintenance even if you bought the condo, just as you have to pay rent.

In all, if you decided to live here its better to buy, but if you arent sure you came to the right place,

the less junk you bought the better, its freedom to have the option to pack the bag and walk away

[i claudius]

the problem with renting is what do you do with your things if you need to go back to your home country for an undetermined amount of time?

... Also the other downside is what if the owner decides to use the unit for themselves.

Rent somewhere else ,there are thousands to chose from. we have familly ,but have you ever heard of storage units ?,there are plenty in Pattaya.

Edited September 7, 2013 by i claudius

[KittenKong]

LOL. I don't need to read, I was right here in PTY at the time. Condo owners enjoyed a huge increase in baht in their money coming in from abroad and bought a lot more champagne and single malt and Cuban cigars for enjoying from their balconies. The prices of their condos were totally irrelevant as they were living in them and enjoying them. In fact, many recognized it was a fine, maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy more condos at bargain basement prices and did exactly that.

You compound your own folly.

What you are describing is the effect of the devaluation of the Baht and not the effect of the drop in value of condos at that time. And I wonder if anyone who bought a condo just before then was really delighted at being able to live in it and enjoy it as it lost maybe half its worth in Baht terms and much more in USD terms? I doubt it somehow. And I'm pretty sure that anyone who bought more than one as an investment prior to the crash was not delighted at all.

Given your level of intelligence and single-mindedness, I'm just compelled to point out that nobody was living in the few half-built condos at the time. Duh. But at any time, in any Third World country, only a speculator (IMO) would dare buy anything as-yet-unbuilt--at any time. And speculators know the risks. Besides you're talking about an insignificant fraction in any case.

Wise or not, many people buy off-plan condos here for many reasons. They are not all speculators.

Even if you care to ignore the completely unfinished buildings on which many people have lost money, you presumably cannot ignore the finished but now rather dilapidated buildings that can also be found around this town and elsewhere. Or the ones that were bought with an expensive nice view that became a somewhat worthless nasty view of another condo a few years down the line. This is not an "insignificant fraction", at least not to those who own them. And I'm pretty sure that many owners of those condos would at some point have wished that they owned paper assets rather than concrete.

[barmatt]

I like to keep my life uncomplicated without the hassle of having a portion of my money tied up overseas.

Another renter speaks.

Rent never buy thats my motto because if for whatever reason you need to leave Thailand

You mean, your passport is stamped "CONDO OWNER! CANNOT LEAVE THAILAND!" so you'll be stopped at the airport?

or because of a market correction, you just pack your bags and move on, bit difficult if you have money tied up in property which is not easily liquidable.

On the contrary, that's when you--thank god--DON'T have to move on. Your condo wasn't affected by the correction that wiped out the value of your "liquidable" shares. You sit tight, high and dry, on your balcony and toast the hoards of renters below moving their stuff out onto the streets.

Next.

Excellent. Move it all over to Thailand then. I'm not plugging the Mac Walen investment seminar, but maybe now's the time, pal.

Yeah right and buy over priced over supplied condo's from you ??? now that would be a reckless move!!

I'll wait for the bubble to burst before I consider buying O/S.

[JSixpack]

What you are describing is the effect of the devaluation of the Baht and not the effect of the drop in value of condos at that time. And I wonder if anyone who bought a condo just before then was really delighted at being able to live in it and enjoy it as it lost maybe half its worth in Baht terms and much more in USD terms? I doubt it somehow. And I'm pretty sure that anyone who bought more than one as an investment prior to the crash was not delighted at all.

Just talking through your hat as usual. First, prices of condos didn't fall much in baht terms, though they did stop rising for a time on average because quite a few Thai owners came under stress and sold at good prices. But Thai condos are usually unfinished--which could be good or bad, depending.

Farang owners AS I TOLD YOU--I was there--living in their condos didn't care, as they enjoyed their windfall, or were happy to pick up additional units. You can "doubt" all you want to, but that's just a projection of your own imagination--I was there, so I know, and I don't have "doubt." Why argue about something you know nothing about, KittenKong?

If you own an asset, and its value in the market falls, you haven't realized any loss until you sell that asset. Owners happy enough living in their condos--as most are, sorry--were completely unaffected. That's the point you are either too dense to understand or just use it as part of unethical argument to impress the yokels here who don't know any better. I hope you'll stop repeating that nonsense.

Those few farang who were in the process of selling anyway were happy to be able to sell quickly to other expats who suddenly had much more spend. Most of these bought houses for their Thai wives. In fact, many immediately raised their condo prices and realized a nice profit in baht! Now of those an even smaller minority who'd planned to expatriate the proceeds found that they wouldn't be able to raise prices high enough to compensate for the fall in the baht. But, so it is when you buy anything in a foreign currency: you might win or lose. But, so? We're not talking big amounts anyway. Farangs here are prone to panic and exaggeration, as in the thread about a case of beer going up B60. They can afford it.

Wise or not, many people buy off-plan condos here for many reasons. They are not all speculators.

Yes they are. They are ALL speculators, professional OR naive amateurs. A fool and his money are quickly parted. They are a small and insignificant minority, though the amateurs do make a lot of squealing noises, of course, giving an exaggerated impression of their importance. People who don't drive well shouldn't be driving motorbikes, but they do, and SOME have accidents and they aren't happy that they did--but I'm just going to spend time wringing my hands for them and believe nobody should therefore drive a motorbike.

To exaggerate your point, you're always claiming "many." But, it's hot air. You don't have any figures but what we do see clearly is thousands of owners throughout PTY living happily enough in their condos, not complaining here, while you, a mere renter, try to claim they aren't merely because you personally don't like condos. And as we've seen, you're just chronically unable to understand why people don't think and act exactly as you do.

Stop projecting your personal fears and negativity onto others and creating these nonsense arguments. I've said, fussy old women shouldn't be here in Thailand at all.

This is not an "insignificant fraction", at least not to those who own them. And I'm pretty sure that many owners

Blah, blah. Love the logic, too.

Edited September 8, 2013 by JSixpack

[OnMyWay2]

Does anyone have any idea what kind of rental rates to expect? I'm thinking you could average around 15kb per month in a good tourist location.

[balo]

I think I will sell now if anyone interested , too much noise here, cant sleep at night .

So I think its better to just keep the money in the bank and rent for a few years . I

[KittenKong]

Farang owners AS I TOLD YOU--I was there--living in their condos didn't care, as they enjoyed their windfall, or were happy to pick up additional units. You can "doubt" all you want to, but that's just a projection of your own imagination--I was there, so I know, and I don't have "doubt."

What can one say to someone who imagines he knows what all Pattaya condo owners think?

By the way I was here in 1997 also. And in 1987. And in 1977. But of course as you know everything about everyone you surely knew that anyway.

[JSixpack]

Farang owners AS I TOLD YOU--I was there--living in their condos didn't care, as they enjoyed their windfall, or were happy to pick up additional units. You can "doubt" all you want to, but that's just a projection of your own imagination--I was there, so I know, and I don't have "doubt."

What can one say to someone who imagines he knows what all Pattaya condo owners think?

By the way I was here in 1997 also. And in 1987. And in 1977. But of course as you know everything about everyone you surely knew that anyway.

If you were here in '97 you evidently were hittin' the bars too often to know what was going on because you merely "doubt." Being a mere renter, you didn't own a condo then, right? I don't need to doubt: I saw firsthand and up close. And what I said makes perfectly good sense. Anyone (I mean, an objective reader, not a card-carrying member of the HATE CONDOS renters brigade) who wasn't here can understand that just logically (giving members some credit) what I reported must have been the case. It was a wonderful time for the VAST majority of condo owners. We can all hope for another such crash! Then member barmatt may be able to afford to buy. I'll buy a few more myself.

I didn't bring up the '97 crash, you did. Sorry that it doesn't at all prove the point you thought it did.

One can go around nitpicking and finding exceptions to this and that and believe it confirms their own fears and biases. So it is with many an old woman. Again, exceptions don't prove the rule. Cf. motorbike example above.

I love this forum! Members of the venerable HATE CONDOS renters brigade complain incessantly of a condo glut--which has nothing do with them anyway. But when there's not a glut, they point to unfinished condos. All with excellent reason, of course.

Cheers!

[PattayaPhom]

To really make a killing, you need to invest in at least 10 units